BRIEFLY : PLAYER INJURED AT PRACTICE IS CRITICAL.

Byline: Daily News Wire Services

Paul Reyna, a defensive tackle for Boise State, remained in critical condition and was making ``limited progress'' Thursday after surgery for a head injury suffered during a scrimmage.

``I am cautiously optimistic because he shows no evidence that there will be permanent damage to the brain,'' said Dr. Ron Jutzy, the neurosurgeon who performed the two-hour surgery.

Boise State was scrimmaging for the first time this fall Wednesday evening when the 19-year-old freshman from La Puente fell backward while being blocked during a play and hit his head on the artificial turf.

Jutzy said Reyna suffered a torn blood vessel which led to bleeding in the brain. Surgery late Wednesday night stopped the bleeding and relieved pressure on his brain, and Reyna was recovering in the intensive-care unit.

BOXING: Muhammad Ali has sued longtime friend and fugitive financier Richard Hirschfeld, who claims he and an associate hold creative control over the famed boxer's life story.

Ali claims Hirschfeld, a former Virginia Beach lawyer convicted of fraud in 1991 and now on the lam from other federal charges, duped him into signing away his rights in 1988, taking advantage of the former boxing champ's weak condition while he was being treated for Parkinson's disease.

BASKETBALL: The Milwaukee Bucks added veteran experience to their young nucleus by acquiring Danny Manning and Dale Ellis from the Orlando Magic in a trade for Chris Gatling and Armen Gilliam.

The Minnesota Timberwolves signed William Avery, their second first-round draft pick, to a three-year, $3.5 million contract.

GOLF: No player older than 22 survived the third round of match play at the U.S. Amateur Championship at Pebble Beach, with 17-year-old South Korean Sung Yoon Kim reaching the quarterfinals.

The youngest player to win the Amateur was Tiger Woods, who captured the first of three consecutive titles in 1994 at 18.

Helen Alfredsson and Laura Davies both broke the course record with 6-under-par 67s and took a three-shot lead in the opening round of the Compaq Open in Stockholm.

TENNIS: Patrick Rafter advanced to the quarterfinals of the RCA Championships in Indianapolis with a 7-6 (7-5), 6-2 victory over Canadian Daniel Nestor, then withdrew from the tournament because of tendinitis in his right shoulder.

TRACK & FIELD: In Seville, Spain, the sport's world governing body rejected a German proposal to scrap some existing world records and start a new list in 2000. The IAAF also tightened rules concerning nationality eligibility.

HOCKEY: Mario Lemieux moved a step closer to owning the Pittsburgh Penguins when a county commissioner said he was satisfied with the financing plan.

The Penguins' Hall of Famer is expected to finalize his deal to buy the team perhaps as early as next week.

Buffalo Sabres goaltender Dominik Hasek had surgery in Munich, Germany, to repair a slight hernia.

Philadelphia Flyers forward John LeClair, being treated for an ailing back in L.A., is close to returning to Philadelphia and should not miss any regular-season games because of his ailing back, his agent said.

The New York Rangers re-signed free agent Mathieu Schneider to a one-year, $2.75 million contract, retaining one of the team's most experienced defenseman.

ETC: Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher, recovering quicker than expected from a broken leg, was given the OK by doctors to resume driving. . . . Self Possessed, who set a world record in winning the Hambletonian, is bypassing the Yonkers Trot, the second leg of the Triple Crown.